MACHINES PROVIDE 33,000 HORSEPOWER

Press, Volume C, Issue 29624, 21 September 1961, Page 10

MACHINES PROVIDE 33,000 HORSEPOWER

Twenty-seven million tons of material are being scooped up by giant excavatoro, gouged from the earth by 30-ton scraper-loaders, carried along haul roads in 20-ton dump trucks—machinery equal in power to 33,000 horses—to build a barrier 360 feet high across a valley to dam the Waitaki river and from a lake to generate 540,000 kilowatts of electricity.

The machines being used on the Ministry of Works hydro-electric project at Benmore win be brought close to the public at a parade to be held at Benmore next Sunday.

A similar parade was held last year, but at that time the Benmore fleet was still climbing towards peak strength.

Apart from the 44 bulldozers employed at Benmore, the combined carrying capacity of other equipment would exceed 1200 cubic yards of material, or something approaching 1500 tons.

Some of this material has only a short distance to travel such as the sands and gravels for the shoulders of the main dam which is transported from borrow areas immediately upstream and downstream from the project site. However, the 3.8 million cubic yards of impervious clayey gravels for the watertight core of the dam has to be carried from a borrow area three miles away. Scraper-loaders com-

plete the round trip in approximately 17 minutes. So far, the record amount of material transported on to the dam in one day exceeds 26,000 yards. This yardage is measured in terms of materia] compacted into the massive

structure and not as that carried loosely along the haul roads. Village Group The Otematata Welfare Asscciation, which is sponsor ing the parade, is made up of the 60 and more social and sports organisations in the village.

Otematata has a population of 3000, and funds for running the village’s clubs and amenities are raised by tho people themselves. The control of the cinema, social halls and sports grounds is vested in a committee elected from association members, and periodically plans are put forward for supplementing the association’s funds.

The machinery parade is one such plaii.

One of the first preparatory jobs was the construction of a 3000 ft airstrip to enable sight-seeing flights to be made on the day. Contractors with machinery employed on the Benmore project offered the use of their machines without charge while the operators of the machines

gave their leisure time tn the' undertaking. In record time, and regardless of the weather, more than 100,000 cubic yards of material was shifted in forming the runway which, after the parade, will remain as an asset of the village. The North Otago Aero Club, working in conjunction with the association, has mustered 10 aircraft for flights on the day, and a helicopter win give a demonstration and take up passengers. W- • /•' • : 'V Boses, Jet Boats 'For those who want to see the Benmore project at close quarters, conducted bus tour? to various points of interest have been arranged. Another novelty will be river rides in jet boats, and for those who really want to get. at close grips with the giant machines there will be rides in scraper-loaders.

The parade will be officially opened by the Minister of Works (Mr Goosman). With him will be the Minister of Agriculture (Mr Hayman).